Dated at the end: “Tientsin, novembre 1926-mars 1927.”
Le Milieu divin is the first major spiritual book Teilhard de Chardin conceived with publication in mind. Written during his second stay in China, it sets out one of the fundamental intuitions of his thought: Christian life does not require turning away from the world, but rather recognizing God at work within matter itself, within human action and within the evolution of the universe.
Teilhard addresses himself in particular to those whose attachment to progress seems to distance them from traditional forms of spirituality. Work, knowledge, creation and collective effort are not profane distractions to be abandoned in order to reach God: they can become instruments for the sanctification of the world.
This reflection is inseparable from his scientific experience. During his first journey to China, in 1923, Teilhard had explored the Ordos desert with Father Émile Licent. Having returned to Tientsin in 1926, he divided his time between geological and paleontological research and the elaboration of a vision he hoped to publish. His Jesuit superiors, however, refused to grant him authorization, as they would later oppose the publication of most of his major philosophical and spiritual writings. Le Milieu divin therefore circulated privately, in typed or mimeographed copies passed among friends, clergy and a few chosen readers. These mimeographed versions exist in four forms, ranging from 65 to 152 pages depending on the format, in editions of only a few dozen copies each.
They represent the only contemporary dissemination of the text, long before its printed edition, published posthumously by Éditions du Seuil in 1957.